- Toyota will invest $1 billion across its Kentucky and Indiana plants to increase U.S. production.
- It will manufacture a second electric vehicle in the U.S. after the new Highlander.
- Several concepts revealed in the past offer possible hints at what that could be.
At a time when many legacy automakers in the U.S. are scaling back their electric vehicle ambitions, Toyota is doing the opposite. The automaker announced Monday that it will invest $1 billion across its Kentucky and Indiana plants to boost domestic production, with much of it going towards EVs.
Of that $1 billion, $800 million will go toward the Georgetown, Kentucky, plant to manufacture a second EV domestically, while also ramping up production of the Camry and RAV4. The remaining $200 million will expand Grand Highlander production at its Princeton, Indiana, plant, which also builds the Sienna minivan and the Lexus TX SUV.
The first EV destined for Kentucky is the upcoming three-row electric Highlander, which will become an EV-only nameplate going forward, after production of the current gasoline Highlander ends this year. The larger Grand Highlander will still offer internal-combustion and hybrid options. Toyota hasn’t revealed what the second electric model will be, though we have heard some hints about it.
Toyota Land Cruiser Se Concept
Reuters reported last September that Toyota’s upcoming U.S.-made EVs will be based on the RAV4 and Land Cruiser, citing a person familiar with the matter. The automaker has already showcased the Land Cruiser Se concept, a three-row electric SUV with unibody construction and off-road chops.
It could also be a Lexus. At its Beyond Zero EV roadmap event in 2021, the automaker showcased what it called a Lexus Electrified Concept, a large SUV that would serve as a more premium counterpart to the new Highlander, going up against the likes of the Cadillac Vistiq and Rivian R1S.
That said, it could be something else entirely. Nikkei reported last year that Toyota plans to consolidate two of its U.S. Lexus plants into one in response to the Trump administration tariffs. That restructuring involved moving Lexus ES sedan production to Japan, leaving Indiana as the sole U.S. plant producing Lexus vehicles.
There’s also a scenario where Toyota builds a Subaru-equivalent of the Highlander in Kentucky, potentially a three-row electric Ascent. Speaking of which, we will learn more about that Subaru EV when it’s officially unveiled at the New York International Auto Show next week.
All said, Toyota has already shifted its EV ambitions into high gear. The brand has two new models and one substantially refreshed model on sale for 2026. The updated bZ, formerly the bZ4X, is now on sale with a cleaner design, more range, and faster charging, including a native NACS port straight from the factory.
It’s joined by the compact, sportier C-HR and the adventure-ready bZ Woodland wagon. Similarly, Lexus also has a heavily updated RZ crossover and an all-new ES sedan, which now comes in hybrid and EV trims only.
For an automaker that was once skeptical of going all-in on EVs, that’s a pretty meaningful change in strategy.
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